CARAMEL IN SPANISH RECIPE

Steps:

• Place the milk and cinnamon stick into a heavy pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and leave for 15 minutes to infuse.
• Heat the oven to 150°C (130° fan) 300°F gas 2.
• Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Discard the cinnamon stick and whisk the milk into the egg and sugar mixture.
• For the caramel: put the sugar, water and lemon juice into a small pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring well until the sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until a rich golden caramel colour. Remove the pan from the heat immediately.
• Pour the caramel into 4 small ovenproof ramekins. Rotate quickly so that the caramel coats the base and the sides evenly.
• Strain the custard through a fine sieve. Pour into the ramekins and stand the ramekins in a roasting tin half-filled with water.
• Cook for about 45 minutes, until set. Leave to cool, then chill for 2-3 hours before turning out.
• To unmould, dip the base of the ramekins into a bowl of hot water for 30 seconds, and then turn out onto a serving plate.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3. Put six 175ml pudding basins or eight dariole moulds into a small roasting tin and bring a kettle full of water to the boil.

  For the caramel, put the sugar and water into a small, heavy-based pan and leave over a very low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then increase the heat to high and leave to boil rapidly, without stirring, until the syrup has turned into a brick-red caramel.

  Remove from the heat and quickly pour a little into the base of each dish, twisting to coat the bottom and slightly up the sides. Be careful because the dishes might be hot.

  Finely grate the zest from 2 of the oranges, then squeeze the juice from them all and measure 400ml into a pan. Add the orange zest and caster sugar and bring to the boil over a low heat, stirring now and then to dissolve the sugar.

  Meanwhile, put the egg yolks and whole eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk together. When the orange juice comes to the boil, turn down the heat slightly and simmer rapidly for 2 minutes. Pour the mixture onto the eggs, stirring, then strain through a fi ne sieve into a large jug.

  Pour the mixture equally into each dish and pour boiling water around them to come two-thirds of the way up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 20 minutes for the pudding basins, 15 minutes for the dariole moulds, then remove from the oven and lift out of the water. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, carefully invert each dish onto a small serving plate and pour some of the caramel syrup around each one. If too much caramel has stuck to the base of the pots, put them back into a small roasting tin, pour boiling water into the tin and leave until it has melted.